Help me get this LOOK with my A1

[Jeff Hinson]

I really like this "look" for music videos.
YouTube - ‪Miranda Lambert - The House That Built Me‬‏

Especially the look of the clips where she is playing the guitar.

Ive tried several A1 presets and still cant get this look. Can you suggest a "how to" for me.
What preset, if any would you use? Is there a Magic Bullet look that you recommend?

Thanks,
Jeff

[Buba Kastorski]

lighting and color are easy, most likely LED panel with diffuser, and go a bit below 3000k with your WB and do some color fine tuning and desaturate in the post, but you won't be able to get that shallow with A1, even fully zoomed ( i guess), either DSLR or 35mm adapter can do that for you, I'd go DSLR - cheaper and much better low light performance ( with fast lenses though :)

[Jeff Hinson]

Buba,
Yes the color and desat is what Im after.
Im stuck with the XH-A1 though. I just want to try and get close with the tools I have.

Thanks for your input,
Jeff

[Josh Keffer]

Some 35mm adapters are getting pretty cheap on the used market now. I picked up a used Letus Extreme for a really good price. You don't have to have ultra-fast lenses either. If you're lighting it right, you won't have any issues. It's definitely not for run and gun shooting or weddings, but that's not what you're going for here. My XHA1s with the Letus and a Canon 50mm 1.8 ($120 B&H) is an awesome combo and can easily get the kind of DOF that you see in your example video.

To me, DOF is one of the things that separates a professional looking piece from amateur video. The colors can be tweaked in post, but you can't fake shallow DOF.

That's just my take on it. Hope you find what you're looking for.

[Les Wilson]

The A1 is capable of achieving blurred backgrounds if you know what conditions will work.
http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/canon-xh...-dof-xha1.html

Then there's the illusion of DOF:
Depth of Field Myth

I have to disagree that sDOF is the mark of professional video vs amateur.
http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/sony-avc...ml#post1664166

[Jonathan Shaw]

Always use the long end of the lens too to get the shallowest DOF. So set the camera up further back on a good tripod and zoom in. Not ideal but it will help. Also have a look at Magic Bullet looks, it's a quick colour grade tool and simpler than Apple Color.

[Josh Keffer]

Last time Jeff asked this same exact question, I told him he could certainly pull it off with his A1 without any fancy add-ons.

See http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/canon-xh...ity-video.html

Jeff, one other thing you could do is try to analyze the lighting scheme, as that can have as much to do with the look of the image as the camera settings. In the guitar scene, the light is motivated by a hypothetical window after sunset. The light is very cool and soft, and there's not a ton of fill. Blue gels or daylight balanced lights with some fairly strong diffusion will get you in the ballpark.

Hope that helps!

[Jeff Hinson]

JOSH...thanks.

Yes, I had ask this months ago and still have your reply. I had give up the project due to other obligations, but have the time now to experiment. My attraction to this video is the "lack" of effects that you see in so many music videos. This one is so "clean" and "pleasant" to watch. It concentrates on the "song" rather than the fancy effects........which I like.

As you and others have stated, the lighting, and DOF is my main challenge. I experimented taping the "walk to the door" clips yesterday using a forum- suggested preset, which was way over saturated. I need to shoot with conservative color and tint in post. I will try the presets MEMORY and BleachBP...they look close to the video.

Im loving trying to "emulate" the big guns videos, with limited equipment....fun and educational.

P.S. Do you think this would be a big help to me (Magic Bullet Looks)
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search...tialSearch=yes

Thanks to all for your tips,
Jeff

[Jonathan Shaw]

You can download the trial version from them and see what you think.

[Jeff Hinson]

I ordered the "quick" Looks version. good price and should be useful on a lot of projects.


jeff

[Jeff Hinson]

[QUOTE=Josh Keffer;1666413

Jeff, one other thing you could do is try to analyze the lighting scheme, as that can have as much to do with the look of the image as the camera settings. The light is very cool and soft, and there's not a ton of fill. Blue gels or daylight balanced lights with some fairly strong diffusion will get you in the ballpark.

Hope that helps![/QUOTE]

Yes, , lighting rules, not presets. Im experimenting more now with color enhancement in post. Once I have the scene lit the way I want it, what preset should I use to capture it?..just the "factory" preset?.......which preset would you use that does not "color", but captures the actual look of the scene.

Hope I make sense..it's early. ha

Jeff

[Les Wilson]

Jeff, there's a color profile philosophy called True Color. There's a True Color profile for the A1. If you search DVinfo, you'll find some posts about it. Here's a thread specific to the A1:
http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/canon-xh...ion-xh-a1.html

I used it when I wanted to capture the most realistic image and tweak it in post ... as you describe.

Other times, you may want to use the camera's profile to give a certain look to minimize work in post. Both are valid approaches.

[Jeff Hinson]

Thanks Les...
I was thinking TrueColor would be the one to try.
Do you mean by Camera's profile.."to turn presets off" and use the camera default.

Will try both today.
Jeff

[Les Wilson]

Sorry about the terminology confusion. On the A1 they are called Presets...on my current camera they are called Profiles. There is a preset I used for the A1 called TruColor2. The factory default is different. Attached is the TruColor2 preset I used when I had an A1.

[Jeff Hinson]

Thanks so much Les...will give Trucolor2 a try today.
Jeff